Ontario Provincial Police have laid two criminal charges against a Liberal fundraiser for his involvement in the Sudbury byelection scandal, but the premier’s deputy chief of staff will not face criminal prosecution.

Sudbury Police Services Board

Gerry Lougheed Jr., 61, has been charged with one count of counselling an offence not committed and one count of unlawfully influencing or negotiating appointments. Both charges fall under the criminal code and stem from Lougheed’s role in trying to convince a former Liberal candidate not to seek the nomination in the Sudbury byelection on Feb. 5.

Pat Sorbara, deputy chief of staff to Premier Kathleen Wynne, was also under investigation, but she will not be criminally charged, deputy premier Deb Matthews said in question period Thursday.

However, a separate investigation in possible provincial offences that includes both Sorbara and Lougheed is still open, according to Det. Dave Truax with the OPP. That means Sorbara could still face charges for violating the provincial Elections Act and such provincial charges can carry up to two years less a day in jail time.

The OPP began its investigation after a former Liberal candidate, Andrew Olivier, posted online recorded conversations of Lougheed and Sorbara asking him not to run for the party nomination in a byelection. When Olivier refused, Premier Kathleen Wynne used her ability to appoint Glenn Thibeault the candidate. He went on to win.

But even after the election was over, the recorded conservations sparked two investigations and opposition calls for Sorbara and Lougheed to resign.

Those conversations with Olivier, which included offers of jobs or board appointments, led to a finding by the province’s chief electoral officer that the two Liberals had acted in “apparent contravention” of the Elections Act. That sparked the separate, ongoing investigation, into possible provincial offences, but the charges laid Thursday are criminal.

Lougheed said in a statement he will fight the charges.

Facebook

“I will be vigorously defending these charges in the courts,” he said. “As I have previously indicated if charged I would step aside from the Sudbury Regional Police Services Board and my position as Chancellor of Huntington University until this matter is resolved. I have no further comments at this time as this matter is now before the courts.”

The OPP brought in an outside prosecutor from the Public Prosecution Service of Canada to help it decide whether to lay charges and avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest with provincial prosecutors employed by Ontario’s attorney general. The police called it “a very uncommon investigation” but wouldn’t say why Lougheed was charged and Sorbara wasn’t.

Truax said it was a long, complex investigation, in part because many witnesses wanted lawyers present during interviews, which delayed the process. He also said the types of charges laid also added complexity as “these are not commonly enforced sections of the Criminal Code.”

“These are uncommon criminal charges that are contained within the Criminal Code,” Det. Truax said.

The first charge Lougheed faces — counselling an offence not committed — means he’s accused of trying to get someone else to commit a crime, but that person, in this case likely Andrew Olivier, did not actually break the law. The count of unlawfully influencing or negotiating appointments means police believe that Lougheed broke laws against what essentially amounts to selling either an appointment or a resignation. For lawyer Boris Bytensky that charge under section 125 of the Criminal Code is not just rare, it could prove hard to prosecute. He also said that section is very specific about relating to appointments, and he’s not sure a nomination will fit its definition. If Olivier were a sitting MPP then the section 125 charges might be a better fit, Bytensky said, but now it’s up to the prosecution to explain that.

His firm, Adler Bytensky Prutschi Shikhman, represented former MP Dean Del Mastro throughout his election fraud case, but Bytensky couldn’t find one recent precedent of charges under section 125, which means any prosecution not only has to prevent the facts of the case but also determine why they fit that specific and unusual charge.

That could leave Lougheed’s case tied up in the same complex legal wrangling the Mike Duffy trial has faced: when charges are laid under more obscure parts of the Code, it’s hard for the prosecution and the defense because they don’t have established case law upon which to build their arguments.

There may be unknown facts that the prosecution will present in court that will explain why they chose that charge, Bytensky said, but from what he can see now, “it seems to me that the prosecution is going to have some challenges.”

He also said charges under the provincial Elections Act have always seemed more likely to him, given what’s publicly known about the case and the Chief Electoral Officer’s determination there was an “apparent” contravention of that law. And, because the Elections Act includes explicit language about dissuading people from running for office, it might be a more direct way to get a conviction.

The opposition parties called Thursday for Wynne to “step aside” while the case proceeds through the courts.

NDP leader Andrea Horwath said it was clear on the recordings Lougheed presented himself as acting on behalf of the premier, and she demanded to know “Who gave him the order” to make those calls and offers.

Wynne was interviewed by the OPP as part of the investigation, but at no point was she the subject of their inquiry.

PC leader Patrick Brown called it a “shameful” day at Queen’s Park and demanded the premier vacate her office for the duration of the criminal trial.

Lougheed is a long-time Liberal fundraiser in Sudbury and a funeral director. He remained chair of the Greater Sudbury Police Services Board throughout the criminal investigation — and the Liberals at Queen’s Park supported that move — but he stepped aside Thursday pending the results of his criminal trial.

He reached out to Olivier after former NDP MPP Joe Cimino resigned his seat in Novemmber 2014, just five months after he was elected to the legislature. That sparked the eventual February byelection, but after losing what was once a safe Liberal seat, Wynne’s office decided to poach popular then-NDP MP Thibeault to run, but Olivier had already expressed interest in seeking the nomination.

Both Sorbara and Lougheed tried to convince him to step aside quietly and back Thibeault. Wynne has maintained throughout Sorbara did nothing wrong and was simply trying to keep Olivier involved in the party since she’d already decided she would use her power to appoint a candidate if she had to. The Liberals have said all along Lougheed, though a long-time member and big fundraiser, acted of his own accord.

Almost Done!

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.